Metallica’s James Hetfield + Kirk Hammett to Perform National Anthem at NBA Finals Game 5

The Bay Area loves Metallica and Metallica loves them right back. As we've seen in recent years, Metallica are big time sports fans and their hometown teams have welcomed the band with open arms. That will continue this Sunday (June 14) when Metallica's James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett perform the National Anthem during Game 5 of the NBA Finals featuring the band's hometown Golden State Warriors.

The band has enjoyed "Metallica Day" activities for several years with the San Francisco Giants baseball team. Earlier this year, they traveled to nearby San Jose to take part in a "Metallica Night" with the San Jose Sharks hockey team. And now, the Golden State Warriors will invite Hetfield and Hammett to perform their instrumental electric rendition of the National Anthem during prime time. The pair also recently performed the National Anthem at the recent X Games in Austin, Texas and that can be viewed here.

"We're incredibly lucky to have another winning team here in the Bay Area as the Golden State Warriors took the NBA Western Conference title and are facing the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals," state Metallica. "By now we're guessing that you've noticed that we like to support our home sports teams, so to continue in that tradition James and Kirk will be on hand at Game 5 on Sunday, June 14th. They'll be performing the National Anthem before the game as the Warriors resume their quest for the title back at home at Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA that night. Tune in to your local ABC station to watch the performance live, game time is 8:00 PM Eastern and GO DUBS!"

The Warriors just tied up the series after a Game 4 victory in Cleveland and are looking to take the next step toward their first title in 40 years.

As for Metallica, they've been breaking for the occasional live performance, but 2015 has primarily been devoted to working on a new album.

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